Hottinger was one of the major experts on present-day and fossil larger foraminifera. In 1997 he obtained the Cushman Award from the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research (Journal of Foraminiferal Research, vol. 28/1, 1-2) for his lifetime contributions to foraminiferal research. Professor Hottinger completed his PhD thesis on Paleocene and Eocene Alveolina in 1959 under the direction of Professor Manfred Reichel. His thesis on Paleogene Alveolina included genus and species definitions and changes through time, the concept of phylogenetic lineages, and their use in zonal biochronology. Published as a double volume of Mémoires Suisse de Paléontologie in 1960, this remains the authoritative work on these unique foraminifera. From 1959 to 1964 he lived in Morocco working for the geological survey under the direction of Georges Choubert and Anne Faure-Muret, a time that was essential for his formation. His bibliography, widely respected by the international scientific community, comprises over 120 papers and six monographs. These contributions range far over the geological landscape, including topics as diverse as stratigraphy, paleoecology, and evolution, and spanning the globe from Indo-Pacific and Africa to the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Besides being a member of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences, in 1993 Professor Hottinger was honored with membership in the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and in 1997 was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain).

International symposium on foraminifera FORAMS 2006 (Natal, Brazil). Book of abstracts: Anuario do Instituto de Geosciencias Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 29/1: 735 p.:

Boix, C., Villalonga R. and Hottinger, L. (2006). Rotaliids from the Late Cretaceous Western Tethys. Abstract. Anurario do Instituto deGeosciencias – UFRJ, 29/1: 677. Hottinger, L. (2006). Scales in space, time and taxonomy in the research for the history of life. Abstract. Anuario do Instituto de Geosciencias- UFRJ 29/1: 682-683. Hottinger, L. and Caus, E. (2006). Meandropsinids, an ophthalmidid family of Late Cretaceous K-strategists endemic in the Pyrenean Gulf. Abstract. Anuario do Instituto de Geosciencias UFRJ 29/1: 684-685. Hottinger, L., Tyszka, J., and Topa, P. (2006). "Glossary" and "e-Forams": free, rapid access to the current basic knowledge on foraminifera. Abstract. Anuario do Instituto de Geosciencias 29/1: 385 -386.

Ornelas-Sanchez, M. and Hottinger,L. (2006). Upper Jurassic Lituolids in the Sierra de Chiapas (Mexico) and their relation to the Tethys. Abstract. Anuario do Instituto de Geosciencias – UFRJ, 29/1: 351-352.